Man, 54, charged with murder following death of 85-year-old woman in east London

A man has been charged with murder following the death of an 85-year-old woman in east London.

Mark Herman, 54, of Rushden Gardens, Ilford, was charged on Saturday following the death of the elderly woman on Friday.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Police were called to Rushden Gardens at about 11am on Friday, where the woman was found unconscious and not breathing.

Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service were at the scene.

Despite the efforts of officers and paramedics, she was pronounced dead shortly before midday.

A post-mortem examination has confirmed that the cause of her death was compression to the neck.

A formal identification has yet to take place, but detectives are confident that the woman is Loretta Herman.

Her family have been informed.